Money, not performance responsible for the Jack Doohan-Franco Colapinto swap, claims insider

Sky Sports presenter Craig Slater has claimed that the primary motivation behind Alpine bringing Franco Colapinto in for Jack Doohan is financial, rather than performance-based. It was earlier announced by the French outfit that they have 'rotated' their drivers around after six races in the 2025 F1 season.

Jack Doohan was signed on an unusual six-race deal at Alpine, thanks to the team leader and the Aussie's manager, Flavio Briatore. Now, the team's reserve driver, Franco Colapinto, has been signed as the replacement, on a five-race contract.

The Enstone-based outfit's curious rotational approach for the second seat at the team has brought them under immense criticism from fans and experts alike. Sky Sports presenter Craig Slater even claimed on Thursday that Franco Colapinto being brought into the team could well be down to financial factors, rather than it being a performance-based decision.

"The financial compulsions in all of this have played a big part in him being swapped in for Doohan. The type of cash that Alpine can get is pretty significant," claimed Slater. [via PlanetF1]

This news has dropped amid turbulent times at Alpine, with team principal Ollie Oakes also resigning from his post on Tuesday (May 6) due to 'personal reasons'. While it was first rumored that this may have come amid tension between him and Briatore, recent reports revealed that the Briton's brother, William, has been arrested in Dubai after being charged with transferring criminal property and was captured with large amounts of cash.

Ollie Oakes has reportedly flown out to Dubai after resigning from his role. He and his brother are listed as the directors of Hitech Global Holdings, the firm that runs the Hitech racing teams, which Ollie led before moving into F1 with Alpine.

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Franco Colapinto 'as ready as possible' after being announced as Alpine driver for the next five races

Franco Colapinto at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Franco Colapinto shared that he is 'as ready as possible' to begin life as Alpine driver, after having signed a five-race contract at the French team, starting at Imola. The Argentine also shared his thanks to the team's management for the opportunity.

Speaking after being announced as Jack Doohan's replacement, Colapinto shared that he has 'stayed sharp' while in the role of reserve driver at Alpine, and is now ready to get going.

"I have stayed sharp, and I am as ready as possible with the team's race support testing programme, as well as on the simulator at Enstone," said Colapinto. [via Sky Sports]

I will do my best to get up to speed quickly and give it my all to deliver the best possible results alongside Pierre." he added.

Franco Colapinto made his F1 debut amid unusual circumstances as well, when he was brought in by Williams to replace Logan Sargeant midway through the 2024 season. The Argentine was not well known at that time, but surprised many fans and experts with his performance right off the bat.

He was later announced as Alpine reserve driver for 2025, as all other seats on the grid had already been occupied.